Next Date:

Liz’s song “Quirky Boogie” from the new CD is in the running for “Coolest Blues Song of the Year.” We need your VOTE by MAY 15th! Go to http://www.bigcitybluesmag.com and click on”Vote for Sampler #21 Round 3″, then click on Happy Face for our song (only one vote per computer or device). Please invite your friends to vote, too. Thanks- we really appreciate your support!

Thanks to each of you who has bought our new CD Quirky Boogie so far, and thanks to Big City Rhythm & Blues Magazine and Suncoast Blues Society’s Twelve Bar Rag for the fine reviews.

We had tickets & were so excited to again see Liz’s fave piano player/singer/songwriter/guitarist/rockstar/legend/influence Leon Russell in concert, & get our new CD to him, especially since we finally recorded one of his songs. So we were devastated when he passed away 11/13/16 at the age of 74, after a career spanning 6 decades. Liz loved Leon & his music for 45 of those years, and we thank God for his talent, inspiring songs, records, and every concert we were able to attend, especially when we opened for him in 2008.

Other famed musicians we loved & lost recently were pianist Mose Allison (2 days after Leon, on 11/15/16), harmonica bluesman James Cotton, & guitarist Chuck Berry. We were blessed to hear all 4 of these legends live, & actually met 3 of them in person.

A reminder to never take your favorite artists for granted…see them live, buy their CD’s & merch, tell your friends & family about them. It’s always money & time well spent for music & memories in your ears & your heart forever.

We’re proud to announce the release of our seventh album Quirky Boogie on Upright Records! Engineered by GEORGE HARRIS at Creative World Recording in Largo, Florida, the new CD contains 15 songs, 10 new originals and 5 cover songs. Quirky Boogie was officially released July 25 when we began our seven-week summer tour, and it is now available on our “STORE” page- order now along with our other cool merch! Also, since we are celebrating the 30th year of our Upright Records label, you will receive a FREE CD of our first album Bluesy Atmosphere (1986) with every $10 you spend in our store, or at gigs. This FREE CD Offer expires December 31st, 2016, so hurry!

Amidst recording Quirky Boogie in April & June, Liz and I also flew to California for ten days in May, where Liz did five shows with the QUEENS OF BOOGIE WOOGIE, along with pianists WENDY DeWITT & SUE PALMER with KIRK HARWOOD on drums. Venues included the iconic jazz & blues club Yoshi’s in Oakland, Soper-Reese Theatre in Lakeport, and KRUSH Radio Concert in Santa Rosa. To our surprise, DENNY CHANDLER flew in from Las Vegas for the Yoshi’s show; Denny was the engineer for our first 4 albums at Chandler Audio (Huntington, WV) , and he is now running sound at Wynn in Vegas. Great to see you, Denny!

Our 2016 Summer Tour went well, and all the shows were basically CD Release Parties for Quirky Boogie. In addition to club dates, the tour also included three festivals: Diamond Teeth Mary Festival (Huntington), Bloomington Boogies Fest (Bloomington, IN), and our 22nd year at the Cincy Blues Fest (Cincinnati, OH). This year in Cincy, we got to meet CHUCK LEAVELL (piano player for the Rolling Stones, Allman Brothers Band, Eric Clapton “Unplugged”, etc), who also played the Arches Boogie Piano Stage. Chuck & his wife RoseLane are very cordial & engaging people, and it was pleasure to hang out with them and the other outstanding pianists for three days.

We had a great time when Doc’s older brother CHARLIE SHAMBARGER from Lincoln, Nebraska visited us in February. Sadly, after returning home, Charlie suffered a stroke and passed away in April at age 70. We’re so sorry to lose Charlie, yet we’re also grateful for the quality time we had with him during that final visit, and all the years of love we shared.

We were also shocked & saddened to lose longtime fan TERRY GREGORY in June, and also YANKEE BILL and JOEY GONZALES in October. We miss them every time we play their favorite songs, and are thankful for their support over the years.

Losing so many in 2016 makes us love & appreciate all of you even more. Hope to see you in the crowd soon!

Jan. 6, 2016 we welcomed grandbaby #3, Greyson Cash! Congrats to Kristen & Drew, and to Greyson’s siblings Jackson & Julie, who are now three years old.

20 years ago in January, we drove our motorhome through ice & snow to make the big move from Ohio to Florida and finally bought a home here 11 months later in Nov., 1996. Our first Florida show that year was at Skipper’s Smokehouse in Tampa, opening for Saffire: The Uppity Blues Women, where it was a freezing 28 degrees-brrrr!

That June we played Chicago Blues Festival with Diamond Teeth Mary, then released our best-selling CD Six Fingers Boogie & toured the Midwest for nine weeks in the RV. What a year!

30 years ago in 1986, we founded our independent label Upright Records & now have six releases plus a new one in the works.

40 years ago in 1976, Liz officially became a professional musician with her first paid gig.

So in 2016, to thank you & to celebrate our first recording Bluesy Atmosphere in 1986 (originally on LPs, then cassettes & now on CDs), for every $10 you spend on our merch at gigs or from our website, you’ll get 1 FREE CD OF THIS FIRST ALBUM. (If you already have it, pass it on to a friend.)

2-26-16 RIP John Hursey, Liz’s 2nd cousin & owner of The Canal House in Tuscarawas, Ohio. John was a great, funny guy & true music/blues supporter & we loved playing there every summer for the past 11 years.

Florida has been blazing in the 90’s since April, so our thoughts turn north, where we hope it will be cooler, as it was last summer. We’ve been busy preparing for our August Summer Tour- check for tourdates on our SHOWS page & hope to see you all on the road. Be sure to say hello & visit the merch table- one new item this year!

Enjoying some good Florida gigs before we leave, including a special concert with the amazing Bob Seeley at the Side Door July 10. We’ll also be sharing the stage with Bob at Cincy Blues Fest (Ohio) Aug. 8 & Bloomington Boogies (Indiana) Aug. 9.

Exciting news! We (along with other Tampa Bay blues celebrities) are on the cover of the Oct./Nov. issue of Big City Blues Magazine, a renowned national blues publication based in Detroit, MI. There are extensive interviews of each featured artist, and it’s been fascinating reading about our peers. Visit their website to find outlets for this magazine in your area, to order copies or to subscribe, which we recommend. See our LINKS page for their website. Ironically, the last time we were featured in a national magazine was the Fall 1994 issue of Blues Revue, and only Liz’s name was on the cover. Hope we won’t have to wait 20 more years for the next one!

Thanks to everyone up north for a great Summer Tour. The highlight of the tour was meeting our newest fan, great-niece KHORA at the Cincy Blues Fest when she was two weeks old! Another highlight was hanging out with our pal ROY BOOK BINDER at Liz’s mom’s farm in Hackney, Ohio & our show together at the ADELPHIA MUSIC HALL in Marietta. It was also fun to celebrate Liz’s sister MARY’S 50th birthday with family.